Tag: wind tunnel

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So I’m back from Mancun!

Hey everyone!

 

Sorry about the major delay in posts, spent some time down south getting away from the cold.

The weather here’s not so bad, but it’s quite cold. I was hoping to get some skydiving done at the skydive mex boogie, but I ended up on more of a party trip then anything else.
The weather in the Cancun area is really not permissive of safe skydiving anyway… It was about 25-35 mph of wind every day, great for surfing, but that’s about it…
So before my trip, I got to go to the tunnel for about 40 minutes of flying time. 30 minutes at the “nuit blanche” (All-nighter in english) which was a blast. I got to fly with 3 friends of mine who also happen to be much better skydivers than I, so I got to learn enormously and have fun at the same time. We did 3 sets of 10 minutes broken into 2 minute splits. The first 10 minutes involved a lot of getting through the rust I had built up (being that I hadn’t flown in nearly a year in the tunnel) I had quite a laugh when I almost rammed head first into the wall during the first 2 minutes. Afterwards things pretty much progressed nicely. I got to practice 4 way formations, work on my levels, formation speed and we worked towards getting as many points as possible.

By the last 10 minutes, we were doing swimmingly, but it was also 4 am and we were burnt.

 

A few days later, the day before my trip, Geneviève and I decided to go fly for 10 minutes during the day. We couldn’t find anyone else to join us, so we just flew together. We flew as if we were flying with 2 other people that were in formation with us and worked at mostly fun formations. Over-unders side by side, over-unders while doing 180 degree turns, position work, 360 degree turns while holding each other, etc.
This was quite a fun 10 minutes and would’ve been fun to continue.

I received my sexy new suits from Deepseed a while ago, had to mail them back for re-sizing as there was an issue with measurements… Kinda sucks when the company’s on the other side of the planet, but I’m REALLY excited to get them back as the suits are the best looking suits I have ever seen.

Blue ones everyone!

 

Adam

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Lessons in Injury Survival

In my 4 seasons of skydiving, two of them have encountered injuries: one from skydiving (that was oh-so-gracefully my fault) and another completely unrelated to skydiving. Both injuries required physical therapy and time away from the sport. Both injuries took place at the beginning of the season, making time off seem just that much longer.

When something happens that keeps you on the ground, you have two options – deal with it or whine incessantly until no one can stand to be around you.

The former requires a bit of strength of character. Dealing with it also requires you to pick yourself up and find a way to channel the energy you’d otherwise be exerting in the sky to something productive. Keep your mind and body busy while the parts of you that need to recover, can.

I’ve come to learn that physical injuries are very similar to emotional injuries – rest and time off from those things that will only serve to irritate the wound is the only way to bounce back and get back to your healthy self as quickly as possible. Time, and the right therapy, does heal wounds…and, it teaches you patience in the process.

I’m not going to lie, I sit here and preach, but I’ve certainly done my share of complaining and dancing with ants in my pants at the idea of getting back in the sky. I spend every week at PT waiting to ask doc when I’ll be able to get back in the sky – and I’m regularly disappointed when he tells me to wait. But, I also know that when that day comes, I know it’s safe to proceed.

In the meantime, I do what I can to get by – hiking, working out, long walks with the dog, whatever I can do to keep my body moving. And, if there’s one piece of advice I can give from my time on the ground due to injuries, it’s to plan something to look forward to. Whether it’s a vacation to lie on the beach or, in my case, a tunnel trip in May (wee!), do yourself a solid and have something to anticipate other than jumping out of that next aircraft.

Keep moving, keep dreaming, and keep your positive attitude. You might be surprised just how much you actually enjoy outside the world of skydiving – and a positive attitude can only serve to help get you to your goal sooner than you think.

Love and blue skies!

Ashley